The promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0 guidelines, regulations and experiences

ELISA RELLA AA. 2013/2014

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM -‐ UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA

SCUOLA DI LETTERE E BENI CULTURALI

Corso di laurea magistrale in

Scienze della comunicazione pubblica e sociale

The promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0: guidelines, regulations and experiences

Tesi di laurea in

Marketing Sociale

Relatore: Prof. Giuseppe Fattori Correlatore: Prof.ssa Pina Lalli Presentata da: Elisa Rella

Sessione terza

Anno accademico

2013-‐2014

CONTENTS


Contents

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... 4

Introduction ................................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.1 The promotion of health .............................. Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.1.1 The Ottawa Charter for health promotionErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

1.1.2 Promotion and marketing strategies for public healthErrore. Il

segnalibro non è definito.

1.1.3 The role of Social Marketing to promote healthErrore. Il segnalibro non

è definito.

1.2 Web 2.0 ......................................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.2.1. The evolution from web 1.0 to web 2.0Errore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

1.2.2 The Gartner Hype Cycle ................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.3 Social media .................................................. Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.3.1 A definition ...................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.3.2 Tweeting-‐Blogging-‐Liking. Types of social media and their functions

.................................................................. Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

1.3.3 Actual numbers of users in Italy and around the worldErrore. Il


Health promotion on web 2.0 and social mediaErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

2.1 Health promotion on web 2.0 ..................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

CONTENTS


2.2 Health promotion on social media .............. Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

2.3 Potentials and risks of online health promotionErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

2.3.1 The potentials of online health promotionErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

2.3.2 The risks of online health promotionErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

2.4 Example of an online health promotion campaignErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

2.4.1 Example of “The Food Hero Experience”Errore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

The promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0 and social mediaErrore. Il


3.1 Dietary supplements .................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.1.1 A definition ....................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.1.2 Facts and figure ................................ Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.2 Guidelines and regulation on the promotion of dietary supplements Errore.

Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.2.1 Guidelines and regulations in EuropeErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

3.2.2 Guidelines and regulations in Italy ... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.2.3 Guidelines and regulation in the United States of AmericaErrore. Il


3.3 The promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0Errore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

CONTENTS


3.3.1 The promotion of dietary supplements vs. the promotion of prescription

drugs .................................................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.4 Examples of experiences of the promotion of dietary supplements on web

2.0 ........................................................................ Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.4.1 An example from Italy ...................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

3.4.2 An example from the rest of the worldErrore. Il segnalibro non è

definito.

3.5 Italian experts answer some questions about the promotion of dietary

supplements on web 2.0 .................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.

Conclusions .................................................... Errore. Il segnalibro non è definito.


ABSTRACT

Health promotion has been a popular activity for many decades now and many

different options have been tried out to improve the probability of a successful

health promotion campaign. The rising of web 2.0 and all the new internet

technologies that came with it, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for

the entire health sector and especially for health promotion activities. The

promotion of health with the help of web 2.0 technologies offers great

opportunities and multiple customizable options to improve people’s wellbeing

and help them make responsible choices towards a healthier lifestyle. Web 2.0,

on its other side with its unique characteristics, symbolizes a complex

environment with almost no rules and limited capability of controlling whatever

happens on it.

The overall aim of this thesis was to take under the magnifying glass a specific

scenario and to deepen the understanding about this particular topic: the

promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0. It represents a relatively new and

complex matter, but offers many interesting inputs and details about people’s

behavior towards the adoption of a healthier lifestyle and disease prevention in

general. The consumption of dietary supplements, mainly considered natural

health products that can help achieve the goal of improving the personal

wellbeing, has become increasingly popular all over the world. Therefore, more

attention must be given to this growing and expanding market as well as the

complicated matter of the promotion of these quasi medical products, especially

on social media. After evaluating the different guidelines, legal regulations and

some experiences regarding the difficult and delicate promotion of dietary

supplements in Italy and other places, some interesting finding could be made. In

Europe and the US, dietary supplements are considered part of the category of

6

food and are therefore regulated as such. Anyhow they happen to share a few

characteristics with drugs and thus may best be treated and regulated like a

category of itself, a category in between the sections of conventional food and

drugs. Precise guidelines and regulations are particularly important for this kind

of products, but most important of all is that these regulations must be spread

and disseminated among the people that use, work and above all that promote

dietary supplements. Unfortunately one of the main findings was that at this

point it is still too early to jump to definite conclusions about the process of

promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0 and social media, as it is yet a not

well documented and widely undiscovered world, which eventually just needs a

future full of great enlightenment work

Health & Medicine

The promotion of dietary supplements on web 2.0 guidelines, regulations and experiences